For the first time in the history of Oak Mountain State
Park, The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has
approved a bow hunt to take place on January 27th and 28th that Conservation
Commissioner Barnett Lawley admits “will not eliminate the problems
associated with deer…”

Arrows that are designed to slice through vital organs and
cause extensive tissue damage and blood loss will be shot into tame deer,
many of whom will not be recovered by their killers and will run deep into
the park only to die slowly of excessive blood loss or massive infection.

Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division Director Corky
Pugh said “without hunting, the population level exceeds what the land will
support, resulting in severe habitat degradation due to excessive browsing,”
but this is the case today despite liberal hunting seasons and bag limits
that have been the norm for decades. Clearly, hunting has exacerbated deer
problems to the point where in certain areas, they are out of control.

We agree with Commissioner Lawley and call for the
immediate halt to violent and dangerous methods of deer control. For more
information on state game agencies’ version of deer “management” contact the
Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting at (845) 256-1400 or visit http://www.all-creatures.org/cash/